Helping AS girl with social interaction

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I attend church and there is a girl who lives in the community who attends as well who is about 26 or 27. She is a really sweet girl, but she has boundary issues like she will constantly ask if she can hug you or she will put her arms around your neck trying to hug you without asking and it's starting to make things awkward because I can tell other people are uncomfortable but they don't know how to broach the subject. What can I do to help her with her social skills in regards to interacting with others appropriately and respecting their boundaries?

It doesn't sound like AS to me.

The only advice I can give you with this is if/when she approaches you, tell her "do not touch me", etc. if she tries to hug you & throw in that you prefer it when people asked and get your permission before they touch you. If you and other people do this, hopefully she'll pick up on asking permission at least before going through other's boundaries.

i think wording it as 'do not touch me' would be rude and it seems to me the OP wants to treat this sensitively..
if nothing else 'please do not touch me' would be nice and still essentially the same message.. maybe add because 'please do not touch me because..' it's inappropriate, i don't know you etc whatever seems appropriate. but i don't claim any wisdom, was just my first thought on the matter.. i encounter this fairly often as i have ocd relating to mysophobia and so generally think all people are unclean and dangerous because of it, though i accept this is an irrational fear.. i've seen the difference between saying 'do not touch me' and 'please do not touch me'.. is sometimes small and insignificant, sometimes the difference between someone thinking i'm very rude and even aggressive or just scared and trying to inform as soon as possible.
fudo

What makes you think this is AS? Most people with AS would never do this, and would generally not want other individuals to be so close to them....and also have the sense not to hug a stranger or just jump right in and touch someone.

I would just tell her she needs to stop hugging people and touching people and shouldn't touch people without asking, unless it's to assist them in an emergency situation.

If the person has AS they would benefit from someone telling them straight-up "Do not touch me / do not touch people without asking, it's impolite and makes people uncomfortable." She's not going to understand your side-stepping around the situation.

I don't get the whole notion of people hugging people they barely know. I can't even stand it when my parents try to hug me. I certainly don't think that sounds like AS.

Actually, it is possible for someone with AS to have boundary issues but it would seem even more unusual for an adult to have these issues. I'm going to guess it's because she's a girl. If a man were going around hugging people inappropriately, something would be immediately said. So again: be blunt.

Not every diagnosis is an accurate one. And at the rate it's going, everyone is on the spectrum.

Dude. Whatever her issues, see if the pastor will take care of it. He's boss of the group, it's his job.

Collage would be a great group for her, but this group is located near Philadelphia. If there are groups like it in your area, then this could be a great resource and social and interaction builder for her.

why the quote? is my suggestion being interpreted as indirect and/or ambiguous? i don't see how it is..
just whether or not this girl has AS, i see no reason one can't be polite whilst still clearly explaining.. she apparently doesn't feel she is doing wrong and might be shocked to find out and may well be upset by being told essentially to 'stay away'. so i was simply suggesting trying to put it nicely. i thought it was almost needless to say that you must be clear and indeed i don't see how my suggestion is any less clear.
but maybe i misunderstood why i was quoted, if indeed there was a reason. apologies if so..
fudo